Looking for ambitious tennis partner(s)

Since beginning 2008 I have been travelling around the world (Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica, South Africa, Mozambique, SE Asia, Japan, France, Sweden and Denmark (my home country) playing and watching tournaments as well as experiancing amazing cultures. As a youngster I played very little tennis (im 41 now) and I guess that my technique was around 2.5 early 08. I enrolled in an academy in Argentina with the declared aim of being able to qualify for the 1st round of a future within one year (much wiser now!!). I only stayed one month at the academy and learned nothing, at the end of the month I was bumped down to the group of beginners. I took lessons with several pros at other academies but learned nothing (as many of u will know most pros dont even attempt at teaching u anything that will take u to the next level fast even if u have the talent).

So I took charge of my one learning (video taping myself, reading books, online resources, reflecting (alot!)) and I would say that I am now a 5.0/5.5 and my plan is to work hard (and enjoy myself) with my tennis during the next year with the declared aim of being able to qualify to the 1st round of futures by mid 2011 (yes I said it and I mean it!).

So if u are an ambitious player (any age) and the same level (or slightly above or below) who has the same plans as myself but donesnt desire of have the funds to join a top notch academy, then im inviting u to join me anywhere in the world where the weather is nice and the facilities are in place and decent cost of living. I imaging ideally that we would be a group of 3 to 5 people/players renting a house/apartment near the place where we would train. We would play and drill some 4 hrs a day between ourselves as well a hire a player at future level (ie atp ranked around 500-1000) some 5 to 10 hrs a week to give us all experiance playing at the leve that we are aiming to reach (!! I kid u not). Monthly costs would prob be around 2000-3000 usd/months all exp included.

Our adventure would start this october and run a minimum of 3 months to 6 month. SO, if u are interested let me know. Comments, suggestions and advise are also very welcome

All I can say is - awesome! At the age of 41 with clear vision and goals - best of luck to you. I would love to be in your position when not having to worry about financial obligations.

I played tennis 18 years ago in high school and recently got back into it at upper 3.5 level and cannot believe how much I had missed the game. Love playing tennis but always a challenge finding a player at similar level, passion, and drive around this area.

You might consider stopping by Santa Barbara for a session of workouts. I am also around your same age and level and there are plenty of D1 and ex D1/Futures players around here to train with, as well as plenty of open tourneys nearby.

sounds like a wonderful idea, but I have to say I'm a bit skeptical of the claim you make about going from a 2.5 to a 5.5 in 2 years.

Do you have any footage of your game that you could share with us?

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Well doesn't sound like he is from the US so he doesn't probably understand the rating system. No problem... but yah 2 years and basically self taught without any competitve experience is actually closer to 4.0/4.5 at best.

The only way he is making it to the first round of a main draw futures event is if he gets a WC by buying his way in or knowing the TD and getting one. To get it the regular way he would have to beat three 5.5-6.5 players in their 20s. Nothing wrong with having goals though

You might consider stopping by Santa Barbara for a session of workouts. I am also around your same age and level and there are plenty of D1 and ex D1/Futures players around here to train with, as well as plenty of open tourneys nearby.

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I'll be in irvine for a month starting early december. any good open tournies in a 150mile radius that time of year? I play 4.5+ league and opens in canada.

The player that finished 2009 #1 ranked nationally in the USTA 40 year old division has a 5.5 rating. He is a former ATP player that played in the Olympics and Davis Cup for his country. But I am sure this guy could be as good as him with 2 years of self training.

Since beginning 2008 I have been travelling around the world (Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica, South Africa, Mozambique, SE Asia, Japan, France, Sweden and Denmark (my home country) playing and watching tournaments as well as experiancing amazing cultures. As a youngster I played very little tennis (im 41 now) and I guess that my technique was around 2.5 early 08. I enrolled in an academy in Argentina with the declared aim of being able to qualify for the 1st round of a future within one year (much wiser now!!). I only stayed one month at the academy and learned nothing, at the end of the month I was bumped down to the group of beginners. I took lessons with several pros at other academies but learned nothing (as many of u will know most pros dont even attempt at teaching u anything that will take u to the next level fast even if u have the talent).

So I took charge of my one learning (video taping myself, reading books, online resources, reflecting (alot!)) and I would say that I am now a 5.0/5.5 and my plan is to work hard (and enjoy myself) with my tennis during the next year with the declared aim of being able to qualify to the 1st round of futures by mid 2011 (yes I said it and I mean it!).

So if u are an ambitious player (any age) and the same level (or slightly above or below) who has the same plans as myself but donesnt desire of have the funds to join a top notch academy, then im inviting u to join me anywhere in the world where the weather is nice and the facilities are in place and decent cost of living. I imaging ideally that we would be a group of 3 to 5 people/players renting a house/apartment near the place where we would train. We would play and drill some 4 hrs a day between ourselves as well a hire a player at future level (ie atp ranked around 500-1000) some 5 to 10 hrs a week to give us all experiance playing at the leve that we are aiming to reach (!! I kid u not). Monthly costs would prob be around 2000-3000 usd/months all exp included.

Our adventure would start this october and run a minimum of 3 months to 6 month. SO, if u are interested let me know. Comments, suggestions and advise are also very welcome

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If that's True - that's self beleif right there , I salute you sir. I'm in Canada but I was looking for something similar next year - but I'm no where near 5.5. I still respect your cause. Good Luck.

If you’re a millionaire playboy or something like that with money to burn, set me up on the dole and I’ll come along. I’m closer to your age than these kids and in your level range skill wise. Ready to leave tomorrow if needed. Where we heading first? Just email me the itinerary.

@ develito......Nah im not a milionaire playboy, so sry cannot sponsor u
@ failed.........well before having students we need to have the "main group", however cannot see how u would save money by being a student as everybody would pay the same share of rent of apart/house and otherwise have the same daily expenses, ie food, membership of club, paying for the future level player that we would "attach" to our group (my idea is that the player with the highest level in the group would get more playing time with the future level player and the player with the lowest level the least time with the future level player, for obvious reasons, but everybody would contribute the same to this guys "salary", some 1-2k usd/month, depending on the country whare we would base ourselves).

With a group of 3-5 in a amazing country like Argentina this could prob. be done for as little a 1500 usd/month all exp. included!

@ Bud and Granitechief...... tx alot for the sugestions to do this in San Diego or Santa Barbara. Sounds awesome with all the great players and tournaments. My only concern would be that it would be difficult to get enough playing time with future level players within a reasonable budget and aspect is pivotal to achieving the planned progress within a year.

@SusanDK......Well I assume that the German system work much like the Danish and winter is coming up etc

Thank u to the words of encouragement that means alot and to the sceptics, without u guys I guess my journey wouldnt be quite the same so thank u for doing ur part @ spacediver....great thead on whip physics, btw.

Seriously though, I'd think it would be beneficial for you to post a video of yourself playing. Otherwise you're just another TW poster talking about wild dreams. If you say there are skeptics, well there always will be no matter what you do, but posting a video will at least let people understand better your level if they're interested in joining you.

...paying for the future level player that we would "attach" to our group

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I may be a bit off base here, but I think a 5.5 level player is probably a future level player. How are you basing your 5.0/5.5 ranking?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here; but if you are serious about this idea (and I believe you are and have honest intentions), then you need to consider the possibility that you are describing your rating inaccurately. I do consider your idea fantastic btw.

as for my self-rating im basing it on various things in randonm order: The description of the skills of the various levels in self-rating program, having watched some 6-8 futures over the past two yrs and played regularly with players who lose in the first round or qualis, having played no 506 in the world at the time in the 3rd round of an invitational (lost 6-0,6-0, but that was last year, ie looooong time ago), having progressed enough since early 08 to be able be beat my former self 6-1,6-1 (on avarage) twice over, if u know what I mean. The players in my club who beat me on average 6-2, 6-2two yrs ago, I know beat 6-2,6-2, having compared myself to the TW video posters that people agree are a strong 4.0 or a 5.5, having usually beaten a guy in Santa Monica last april who on the message board of the club rated himself a former 4.5 (not sure HE was correct though!

I dont agree that a 5.5 is a future level player as these are from 300-800 in the world (main draw), which would leave the remaing levels for the top 300 players in the world which would be absurd.

Seriously though, I'd think it would be beneficial for you to post a video of yourself playing. Otherwise you're just another TW poster talking about wild dreams. If you say there are skeptics, well there always will be no matter what you do, but posting a video will at least let people understand better your level if they're interested in joining you.

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In general video is not very good for discerning 3.5-4.5 levels where most of the TW posters play at. Video is however good at displaying beginners and low level players <3.0 and it is very good and displaying high level players 5.5+. So I agree, if this guy is anywhere close to the level he says he is playing at post a video and show all the skeptics they are wrong. Unedited matchplay video is the best.

goober, its simple right. Coming onto a forum and asking complete strangers to travel with you to a distant place, pay for training, living expenses etc and saying you started tennis seriously 2 years ago and are now a 5.0/5.5 at 41 years old is a bit far fetched. A video would at least prove this isn't a troll or some guy thinking he's better then he really is, that is all and considering he stated in his first post that he learned by video taping himself, I'm sure it would be no problem getting some footage together.

as for my self-rating im basing it on various things in randonm order: The description of the skills of the various levels in self-rating program, having watched some 6-8 futures over the past two yrs and played regularly with players who lose in the first round or qualis, having played no 506 in the world at the time in the 3rd round of an invitational (lost 6-0,6-0, but that was last year, ie looooong time ago), having progressed enough since early 08 to be able be beat my former self 6-1,6-1 (on avarage) twice over, if u know what I mean. The players in my club who beat me on average 6-2, 6-2two yrs ago, I know beat 6-2,6-2, having compared myself to the TW video posters that people agree are a strong 4.0 or a 5.5, having usually beaten a guy in Santa Monica last april who on the message board of the club rated himself a former 4.5 (not sure HE was correct though!

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It sounds like you're using a lot of guesswork and relying on your performance based on ratings you've seen online. I really doubt you're even a 5.0 level player if you were a 2.5 player two years ago.

I dont agree that a 5.5 is a future level player as these are from 300-800 in the world (main draw), which would leave the remaing levels for the top 300 players in the world which would be absurd.

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You may be correct here. However, if you were a 5.5 level player, you'd probably be able to compete with division 1 college players.

... having compared myself to the TW video posters that people agree are a strong 4.0 or a 5.5, having usually beaten a guy in Santa Monica last april who on the message board of the club rated himself a former 4.5 (not sure HE was correct though!

I dont agree that a 5.5 is a future level player as these are from 300-800 in the world (main draw), which would leave the remaing levels for the top 300 players in the world which would be absurd.

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Are you in Santa Monica or the LA area? Contact me
via my TW profile. (to play tennis, not to travel the world)

The players in my club who beat me on average 6-2, 6-2two yrs ago, I know beat 6-2,6-2,

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That means at best you have moved up a half a level. From everything I can gather about these new fangled USTA levels (I played my best before USTA) a high 3.5, 4.0, whatever should beat a player on the low end of that spectrum 6-0, 6-0.

Hi QiRoy, thanks alot for ur message and interest. Well, nobody has joined yet, Ive only had the correspondance that u see in this thread. Im very close to subletting my apart and buying a ticket, probably to Argentina, so if u are interested etc, there is no reason why we cant go ahead and create a two person group, start "working" (in Argentina or somewhere else), and let others join in their own time. So who are u and what are ur questions?

* Where were you based in Argentina when you were there and where do you plan on basing this 'camp'?
* How long were you there?
*What sort of surface are you looking to do the majority of training on?
*Can you speak Spanish?
* Do you have an idea of Accomodation/Courts/Gyms/Coaches/Professional Players we can hit with?
* Could you please send a video of you hitting the main shots Serve/forehand/backhand?
* Do you have a background in other sports?

I've realized how hard it is to accurately self assess how good we are as players now that I'm attempting to portray to you my level.

If I go by the ratings that I've seen, I'm probably quite low. Say 3.0 to 4.0.

I used to play when I was younger (9,10,11yrs old). Then I stopped, partly because I was wanted for other sports, partly because the older I got, the more I was interested in other things. (Music...girls....etc) I remember being one of the better players, but never putting everything into it because of other sport commitments. I can remember entering 2 tournaments. One, I won (against a girl The other, was against older guys. I stayed at my friends place who was also competing in the tournament. We spent the whole weekend practicing a "special" handshake for when we won doubles points.......We got smoked and didn't get to use our handshake much

Now, I'm turning 30 next month and I've got he fire in my belly to see how good I can get at tennis. I've been playing this year whenever/where ever I can.

I've been travelling for the last couple of months and managed to get some hits/coaching in Canada, Bulgaria and now in China.

I have power, and apparently potential, but lack consistency, footwork and general muscle memory.

I'd LOVE to see if I could eventually compete in a pro tournament like the Futures.

2 issues on my end with your current idea:

a)-I sprained my ankle 3 day's ago and still can't walk 'normally'. I can only get around by hobbling like Karate Kid in the final fight against that blonde guy.

b)-I have to be in Canada in November, so at best I could only get there by December. However this will give me time to get my ankle right.

One other thing......if I say I will do something, then I try my best to honor it. I unfortunately can't commit to 3 months straight off the bat. A month to see how things go and how the stars are aligned could be doable for me.

Too bad with the sprained ancle! Well at least now u have the time to train ur karate kid crane stance /) Since u wouldnt be able to join until december i think we can go into detail when that time comes, but let me give u some short answers: If in Argentina (Buenos Aires), the best place to base ourselves would be the Vilas academy/country/tennis club. It is some 80 usd per month and u get to use some 14 clay courts, two gard courts, great gym, pool area, restaurant, two 5 a side soccor field, beach volley, ie amazing place, of course no lessons included in this price. A very good hitting guy (eg a guy with future experience) would cost us 1k usd/month for 20hrs/week (ie quite cheap) A nice 3 bedroom apart nearby the courts would run 1200-1500 usd/month, food, drinks, bars/discos, transport is very, very cheap compared to USA or Europe.....and the women are absolutely stunning, if one doesnt mind stunning caucasian women!
Yes I speak spanish (portuguese, french and english and will get by in german). I still play football (soccor) at quite a high level(with and against former danish national squad players in their 30s) and im very fit and fast.

Concerning ur level, well there would be some practical issues regarding the training if our level are very different, thats why a group of 3-5 is better. Good to hear that u have the fire in the belly though

How long were u in China for, think about going there myself (plus India)?

@ mix_ice asia is not out of the question, r u from Asia, what is ur level and r u serious about doin something like this?

@ jeffy_005 yes u should count on 1500 usd/month (excl air fare) if this is done in Buenos Aires, in Asia if could probably be done for 1k usd/month/person at a group of 3-5 players.

I've only been in China for 2 weeks (Shanghai). Will be here for about 3 more.

Had hit with 3 'coaches' until I rolled my ankle. So far, my impression of Shanghai tennis hasn't been that great. Apparently the last coach was ranked number 13 in China at some stage.

He said that he's, "THE best in Shanghai". I'm not sure if he meant coach or player now I think about it. He was accurate, but I did expect more from a former no 13 in China. However he was better than the first 2 guys.

He cost 300RMB/hour. Court fees were extra. Indoor courts were 300RMB. 120RMB for outdoor courts at night. 100RMB for indoor courts. Club membership was 32000 RMB for the year and from what I could understand, just meant cheaper courts, not use-as-much-as-you-like courts.

This was at the Regal Hotel courts btw. I stayed there for the first week, until I did my ankle. Seemed like a rip off really. I've now moved into a hostel. I'm not even sure that you can use those courts without staying at the hotel, having a membership, or being with a member.

I know Shanghai is expensive compared to the rest of Asia, so if you/we were to set up camp in Asia, it doesn't seem like shanghai would be the place to do it.

spacediver ur funny with ur request/demand for a video hehe im dealing with that on a need to know basis! I could show u a video of me playin, but.......

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Go on, but what? You're afraid people will analyze every little thing on that tape? Possibly but hey who cares. I wouldn't, its stupid to. However, I am interested in your playing level. Not to put you down but hey considering you put up a thread like this and are asking people to join you I'd say thats almost a necessity. I coach for a living, have done the whole traveling coach with a player in the past. If you're serious about this, personally I think you're in way over your head if you expect results. If you want to do it for the thrill and experience of it, than good luck to ya and I hope you enjoy the journey.

To me Argentina sounds awesome (and relatively cheap from what you've said) considering what facilites you have access to for that membership cost.

Having said that, I'm open to other suggestions.

mix_ice, do you have any concrete places/prices with good facilites that you know of? Or are you thinking that there must be some cheap place in Asia and that it will be less expensive because you're already there?

I'm seriously open to suggestions, but for some reason Argentina is exciting me more than Asia at this point.

Also, I really do think that, as much as I don't particularly want to share video unnecessarily with the world, it would help everybody considering this mission, to make appropriate decisions about whether it would be right for them. And I guess it shows some level of credibility.

Plus, I don't want to be the guy that travelled half way around the world to train with a group of guys, and then realized that I'm no use to anyone and in the way because my level was.......well, on the wrong level, so to speak.

I’d personally do it in the EU. Somewhere like Portugal where if you’re smart with your money you can get by pretty decent. The advantage you have is every weekend you hop in a van and travel from tournament to tournament in various countries close by with relative ease and convenience. If I were to commit myself to such a serious endeavor I’d want to be busting out tournaments weekly or every second week. At that level, there is no substitute for match play.

I coach for a living, have done the whole traveling coach with a player in the past. If you're serious about this, personally I think you're in way over your head if you expect results. If you want to do it for the thrill and experience of it, than good luck to ya and I hope you enjoy the journey.

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tennis_balla - Cool that we've got some experience here!

Out of curiosity, what would be the approximate cost for an average-to-low-end touring coach?

And how do you think this idea of peoplespeace could be tweaked to get better results? Or do you think it's the wrong way to do it?

I’d personally do it in the EU. Somewhere like Portugal where if you’re smart with your money you can get by pretty decent. The advantage you have is every weekend you hop in a van and travel from tournament to tournament in various countries close by with relative ease and convenience. If I were to commit myself to such a serious endeavor I’d want to be busting out tournaments weekly or every second week. At that level, there is no substitute for match play.

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I was thinking about somewhere in the EU too for the same reason. Do you know of any appropriate places in Portugal?

Out of curiosity, what would be the approximate cost for an average-to-low-end touring coach?

And how do you think this idea of peoplespeace could be tweaked to get better results? Or do you think it's the wrong way to do it?

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It depends how much you wanna spend time on court, if you want the coach to travel with you to tournaments and so on. Prices are always negotiable depending on whats involved. Not sure what you mean by average or low end. Besides, most guys just travel on their own and get coaching whenever they're back home or get a coach to come with them on the bigger tourneys if they can afford it.
Think of it this way, you can get a deal with a coach if you pay up front for lets say a months worth of training. That would say you some $$, but expect to pay his hotel, meals, travel expenses plus salary if you expect anyone to travel with you to tournaments.

Qiroy, well, compared to Europe, I'd assume Asia would have less expensive alternatives.. but I can probably check around Southeast Asia for possible venues that could suit a group of 4 players perhaps whose goals are all the same: that is to put in some serious work and not be afraid of taking risks in the goal of reaching the tennis level that each member would be capable of.

@mix_ice....Yeah, if you could have a check around, who knows what you might find. It seems reasonable to think there should be somewhere in Asia that would be cheaper than Europe. Although, Portugal and Bulgaria could be viable European options.

The Argentina option of peoplespeace seemed pretty damn competitive and peoplespeace already has a pretty good idea of venue and prices which is brilliant.

I'm finding it pretty hard here in Asia to hunt out tennis resources seeing as I can't speak Mandarin. Where are you based mix_ice? What languages can you speak?

@ everybody....doing this in Europe would be great apart from two problems; one is the weather which is getting cold(er) and two is the cost of attaching a future level player to the group some 2-3 hrs/day, in Europe this i dont think can be done for 1usd/month as u can in other parts of the world. Playing tournaments is great fun, i love it, but given the time (and cost) of getting in a van and drive around southern europe, i dont see it taking me to future level in one year, although we could have a blast

Regarding Asia, of it is doable in Asia in dozens of different locations. Although shanghai or china in general might not be first choice for several practical reasons, including some mentioned by u QiRoy

Re video, pls go ahead QiRoy and share with the world, ill do so when I feel that I need or want to, and for the record, i would not mind the vox populi at all (I promise though at some point to post three videos showing my progress from early 2009 to late 2010). QiRoy, dont worry about ur level or "being in the way", as i said the greater the span of level in the group the more players are needed and also if ur a 3.0 player finding additional local players to play with is easy. Me Im going ahead now so if im alone I will make a set up intended for one person, in the sense that I will rent a studio or one bedroom apart, find local players to play with on an ad hoc basis and make an arrangement with a local future player. In this situation, if u were to join for one months in lets say Argentina i december, u would have an accomodation issue and the whole thing would change a bit compared to being a group of people starting together from the onset, living together, supporting each other, hanging out etc.

@ Peoplespace....You're completely right. Bulgaria's winter weather is NOT conducive to tennis. As for Portugal, I'm not sure, but I'd think that most of Europe would be pretty ****.

Okay, well I'll throw a video out there to hopefully get the ball rolling then guys. But first a bit of background....

So, I played when I was 9,10 and 11 years oldish. Then stopped. I'm turning 30 Next month.

Last year I took a complete novice friend out for a hit with my old prince lightning 90's We had maybe 6-10 pretty horrible hits in the first half of the year, then went overseas.

While overseas, I bought a new racket and think I had 2 hits with a friend in London with it.

Then, this year, with my novice friend, I had about 6ish more hits. Then had to travel for business/pleasure, so I decided to take my racket with me and see how much tennis I could get in and how much I could improve.

Since leaving New Zealand on the 29th of August I managed to have about 7 hits in Canada, 3 in Bulgaria and 3 1/4 in China. (The 1/4 being when I rolled my ankle).

About the video.....

Obviously there was no use me sending video of me hitting terrible shots into the net or sky. So, the forehand/backhand shots are 'best-of' (technique-wise) in my opinion. (Still a work in progress obviously)

I'm aware that a one perspective camera shot of snippets of shots aren't very accurate in judging my level. It's definitely lower than what I look like in this video, but I am reasonably confident that with some regular, descent, focused training and troubleshooting, I can become reasonably consistent. And my fitness and footwork surely can only improve seeing as I'm yet to focus on these points. I was horrified by how sluggish I was when watching footage back.

Unfortunately, the Great Firewall of China doesn't seem to like Youtube or Dropbox, so I'm trying to sort something else out now......